SoCal native chosen among latest NASA astronaut candidates
Dante Ulanday - News Moderator 
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) -- NASA announced Monday the new 10 astronaut candidates from all over the United States.
Katherine Spies, 43, joins the group who are now in Houston and diving into two years of intense training.
Spies was born in south Orange County and her parents live in Point Loma in San Diego County. She graduated with a chemical engineering degree from the University of Southern California (USC) and went on to get her master's from Harvard University.
Spies is a former Marine Corps AH-1 attack helicopter pilot and experiential test pilot with more than 2,000 flight hours.
“I think the most thing I’m excited about is learning this ecosystem of human space flight” said Spies.
NASA processed more than 8,000 applicants before deciding on the final 10.
NASA Selects All-American 2025 Class of Astronaut Candidates:
- Ben Bailey
- Lauren Edgar
- Adam Fuhrmann
- Cameron Jones
- Yuri Kubo
- Rebecca Lawler
- Anna Menon
- Imelda Muller
- Erin Overcash
- and Katherine Spies
With the addition of these 10 new astronauts, NASA has now recruited 370 astronaut candidates since selecting the original Mercury Seven in 1959. Learn more about these and other astronauts online at nasa.gov/humans-in-space/astronauts.
